Nelson-Atkins Hires Senior Curator of European Art

Aimee Marcereau DeGalan to Oversee Bloch Collection, French Catalogue

Kansas City, Mo., Oct. 25, 2016–The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City has hired Dr. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan as the Louis L. and Adelaide C. Ward Senior Curator of European Art. Marcereau DeGalan comes to the Nelson-Atkins from The Dayton Art Institute (DAI), where she was Chief Curator and Curator of European Art.

“The timing of this important addition to our staff could not be better,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “Aimee’s scholarship will be immediately called upon as we prepare to open the Bloch Galleries in the spring, and she will continue the important work that has begun on our catalogue of French paintings.”

A specialist in British and French 18th and 19th-century art, Marcereau DeGalan will lead the European Arts division, which includes the departments of Ancient Art, European Paintings & Sculpture and Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts. She will pursue senior-level research exhibition and catalogue projects, and be responsible for acquisitions, interpretation and presentation of the European collections.

“Aimee’s experience at institutions of varying scale and type has been excellent training for the job at the Nelson-Atkins,” said Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs. “A 2014 Center for Curatorial Leadership Fellow, she has worked across many disciplines to engage a wide range of audiences and is also an amazing leader.”

Marcereau DeGalan was hired at the DAI in 2012 as Curator of Collections and Exhibitions. Previously, she held curatorial posts at the Fleming Museum of Art at the University of Vermont, The Cleveland Museum of Art and The Detroit Institute of Arts. While in Dayton, Marcereau DeGalan raised major funds for conservation treatments to seven significant European paintings, accessioned more than 400 objects, regularly brought scholars into the museum to advise on its different collections and presented 24 exhibitions during her tenure. Importantly, she worked to broaden the DAI’s engagement with the Dayton community.

“The DAI will forever be grateful for Aimee’s meaningful contributions to the museum and the community,” says Dayton Art Institute Director and CEO Michael R. Roediger. “During her time at the museum, she has led the Curatorial Department and the Collections Committee, been a valued member of the museum’s leadership team, and been an integral part of the development of the museum’s Centennial Plan. The Dayton Art Institute can be proud that one of our own is moving on to such a prestigious organization.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the curatorial team at the Nelson-Atkins,” said Marcereau DeGalan. “It has long been an institution I have admired not only for the scope and depth of its collections, but also for its commitment to research, scholarship, and to broadening its reach within the regional community and on the national and international stage.”

Marcereau DeGalan will begin her position on November 1st.

Photo credit: Chris Dissinger

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